Lemon
by HanaWriter
Summary: A few Alternate Endings for The Book Thief. Rudy lives in all of them. Fluffy and sweet. My very first Fanfic EVER! Please Read and Review!
1. Finding Eachother

**This is my first Fanfic! I was really sad at the end of The Book Thief and I want to have Rudy live, so I am writing a few alternate endings!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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><p><em>A girl sits, broken and covered in ashes, in a police station. On the other side of town, a boy with lemon hair is pulled form the rubble. His body is transported to a<em> _place with many bodies being packed into boxes before burial. Just before he is packed away for ever, he jurks alive, as the girl across town is picked up by a_ _friend. The boy is taken to the orphanage. The girl is taken to a the mayor's home. They both thought the other was dead._

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><p>The mayor's wife was at the police station, holding Leisel. They got into the car and drove back to the house. Leisel wouldn't bathe. She just sat on the floor of the library, looking out the open window, remembering. Eventually, the Mayor's wife figured she needed new clothes, so they went to a market in town.<p>

Across town, in the orphanage, Rudy sat in a corner, watching boys outside play soccer. A girl stood in the goal, laughing at a boy with orange hair slip and fall in the mud. He remembered when the same thing happened to him and Leisel. "How about a Kiss to make it better" the boy called, and as the echo drifted in the window, the boy with Lemon hair hung his head and cried. The owner of the orphanage sighed as she left for the market

At the market, Leisel and the Mayor's wife bought dresses and sweaters, even some pants and blouses. Leisel knew she had to find something to wear to Himmel's funeral, so she looked at fancy black dresses. "I'm just going to talk to Frau Rommel, okay?" The Mayor's wife asked. Liesel nodded. "How are you?" the Mayor's wife said. Frau Rommel sighed. "Good. I've got a new child, from Himmel, see. He's heart broken" the Mayor's Wife's brow furrowed her brow "but..Liesel is from Himmel...she supposed to be the only one...who is the child?"she said. Frau Rommel replied "Rudy Steiner." The Mayor's wife smiled. "He's her best friend. I'd like to take him in as well, as a surprise for them both" Frau Rommel smiled."You can pick him up tomorrow"

On the way home, The Mayor's Wife concocted a lie. "Frau Rommel runs the orphanage. There is another kid, a boy, your age who survived a bombing. I'm going to take him in, to keep you company. He's coming 't that be nice?" Liesel nodded."Why don't you wear your new yellow dress?" The dress was the color of lemons. Of Rudy. She nodded again.

When Frau Rommel got back to the Orphanage, she too concocted a lie. "Rudy! Someone is adopting you! The mayor and his wife! They have another orphan your age. It'll be nice to have company won't it?" Rudy nodded. "Yeah" he sighed. He thought of Liesel as he fell asleep crying.

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><p>The next day, both Rudy and Liesel bathed. Liesel donned her yellow dress. She sat by the window again, looking at the only things she saved from the bombing- her books. She flipped to the page describing Rudy in her life's story. She sighed. Whoever this new boys was - how he could replace Rudy?<p>

Rudy was ready to leave. He sighed in his crisp shirt and pants. The nicest clothes he'd ever had. He climbed into the car. He had no possessions. It was a short ride to the Mayor's house. When they arrived, he got out of the car and climbed up the steps. Rudy took a big breath and opened the door.

The first thing he saw was a girl sitting at the window. She had a pile of books near her and was surrounded by the library. _Liesel's Library_. She was reading a tattered, ripped and burned edition. She was breathing heavily and crying. "My best friend and I used to come here and steal things" he whispered. The girl crumpled in tears. "I'm sorry" she said, and left the room.

Liesel didn't once look at the boy in the library. But she heard him _"My best friend and I used to come here and steal things"_ it reminded her of Rudy, and it broke her heart to think that someone else was doing the same thing as them - as if it wasn't as special. She stood in the kitchen, looking at the wooden spoons. Thinking of Mama and Papa, of Himmel. This boy's home was bombed too. He must have lost his best friend. Liesel wondered if it had been a girl. If he had asked her for kisses. If he had loved her, and she him, but she never told him. She decided to greet the boy with empathy.

The girl was gone, leaving Rudy to look at her books. One, the one she had been reading, lay open by the window. The pages flipped and turned, filthy and charred. Rudy picked it up, closing it. He heard a sound behind him. "I wrote that, if you want to read it. It's my life's story. At least my life _here"_ the girl said. Rudy nodded and sat on the floor, back to the girl.

Liesel waited for the boy to start reading, but he just sat, holding it in his hands, feeling it. She stood and ran her hands over the shelves, and watched him. His hair was dirty, but could be almost the exact likeness to Rudy's. She sighed and sat up against the shelves. Just waiting.

Rudy just sat, unsure about opening the book. What would he find inside? He hadn't even looked at the girl's face, and she hadn't seen his. He flipped through the pages, not reading anything. A few words caught his eye. _Running, Soccer, Basement, Jew, _and _Lemon_s. "Go on then. You can read it" the girl said softly. Rudy flipped to the front page.

**The Book Thief **

** By Liesel Meminger**

"The book thief. Liesel." Rudy gasped. He whipped his head around to look the girl right in the face. "Liesel?" He gasped out. He began to cry. Liesel raised her head with concern, and what she saw made her cry too. "Rudy?" she whispered. He could only nod. The two smashed together in an embrace. Both were crying almost uncontrollably. "You're okay. You're alive." Rudy said, looking into Liesel's eyes. "You - you were dead, lying on the ground. I asked you too wake up, I begged you, but nothing happened and-" "I don't know how" Rudy interrupted, "but I woke up surrounded by dead bodies in a truck. I tried to find you but I couldn't" "It doesn't matter how. Only that we've found each other" Liesel said. She and Rudy were still in their tight embrace. "How about a kiss _Saumensch?"  
><em>Rudy laughed. But of course, Liesel had already kisses his dying lips. She looked into his eyes and brought her lips to his. She closed her eyes as he kissed her back. Their tears mingled. When they pulled away, Rudy was smiling "I told you you'd want me someday Liesel" he said, laughing. She smiled and hugged him again. "I'm so glad you're alive. I love you, Rudy"

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><p>When the Mayor's wife saw them holding hands and standing no more then a foot away from each other at all times, she knew her plan had worked. She'd never seen Liesel so happy, even when entering the library for the first time. "Surprise" She said at supper, smiling.<p>

The little make-shift family lived together, happily, until Rudy's father showed up. He had come home from the war, to go to the funeral of Himmel. He expected to see Rudy and Liesel's graves. Side by side he'd hoped. Even he'd seen their love for each other, even if they hadn't. He wanted them to be neighbor and best friends in Heaven to, just as they were on Himmel. He showed up to the funeral, dressed black. He saw the Mayor and his wife standing by two young teens, standing close, holding each others hands. He reconised the hair first, then the face of the girl. The boy leaned down to kiss the girl's head. "Rudy! Liesel!" he called out. Both of them looked up. Liesel's mouth hung open, and Rudy smiled. He ran to his father and embraced him. "You're home!" he said. "And you're alive and so is-" "Liesel!" Rudy finished. "Where are you living?" his father asked "With the mayor and his wife - she's Liesel's friend. She 's there too." Rudy explained everything about the last few weeks. His father went to talk to the mayor and thank them. Rudy and Liesel stood together.

"Where are you going to go? Where will you and your father live? Please don't leave Rudy, I don't know what I'd do if you left!" Leisel exclaimed. Rudy looked at her and pulled her into a hug. "I'd never leave. My father's shop is okay - he went and looked. There is an apartment above it, but we use it for storage. I think we'll go there"

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><p>Rudy and his father moved into the apartment above the suit shop. Surprisingly, people still wanted suits. Liesel and Rudy worked in the shop together. The war ended, and Hitler was dead. Everything was looking up. Liesel had long since accepted that her friends and family were dead. That Max, although not in the bombing, was dead. One day, she was unpacking boxes of new suits, when a man with feathered hair came into the shop "Does a Liesel Meminger work here?" he asked Rudy's father. "Why, yes. May I ask who is calling?" he answered. Max was about to answer when Liesel and Rudy came out of the back room together.<p>

"Max!" Liesel shrieked. They hugged and laughed and cried. Rudy and his father stood and watched. "They hid him in their basement for years. He's Jewish." Rudy explained. "They're close friends." he smiled. Liesel was right. He _did_ have hair like feathers. "You must be Rudy" Max said. "Yes, that's me." Rudy answered. Max turned to Liesel. "His hair _is_ the color of lemons"

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><p><em>Rudy and Liesel lived for a long time together. They got married, had children. Rosa, Max, Werner and I picked them up together, having died in each others arms, I was glad I had broken the rules and gave Rudy his soul back. I was glad I'd let him live. I was glad I'd given Liesel back her friend. I might be Death, but I know lot's about love.<em>


	2. His Soul

**Okay, so, I thought of the last one just the other day, but this and the other alternate endings I thought of back when I read the book for the first one is from the point of view "Death" (Same as book) Hope you enjoy. Read and Review!**

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><p>When she saw the rest of them, Liesel coughed. She listened momentarily as a man told the others that they found one of the bodies in pieces, in one of the maple trees.<p>

There were shocked pajamas and torn faces. It was the boy's hair she saw first.

Rudy?

She did more than mouth the word now "Rudy?" He lay with yellow hair and closed eyes, and the book thief ran toward him and fell down. She dropped the black book. "Rudy," she sobbed "wake up..."She grabbed him by his shirt and gave him the slightest disbelieving shake. "Wake up Rudy," and now, as the sky went on heating and showering ash, Liesel was holding Rudy Steiner's shirt by the front "Rudy, please." The tears grappled her face. "Rudy, please, wake up, Goddamn it, wake up, I love you. Come on, Rudy, come on Jesse Owens, don't you know I love you, wake up, wake up, wake up..." But nothing rubble just climbed higher. Concrete hills with caps of red. A beautiful, tear-stomped girl, shaking the dead. "Come on Jesse Owens"

But the boy did not wake.

In disbelieve, Liesel buried her head into Rudy's chest. She held his limp body, trying to keep him from lolling back, until she needed to return him to the butchered ground. She did it gently."God,Rudy..."

She leaned down and looked at his lifeless face and Liesel kisses her best friend,Rudy Steiner, soft and true on the lips. He tasted dusty and sweet. He tasted like regret in the shadows of trees and in the glow of the anarchist's suit collection. She kissed him long and soft, and when she pulled herself away, she touched his mouth with her fingers. Her hands were trembling, her lips were fleshy, **(Author's Note : End of excerpt from book, rest will be my own** **now.)** and she leaned into kiss him once more. As I watched, my cold heart broke. I had seen people cry over lost loved ones, but I had never watched them fall in love. I sighed as I walked back over to the girl and the dead boy with lemon hair. I stood over Liesel's shoulder as she kissed him, and put Rudy's glowing soul back into his body. It writhed and pulled from my hand, as if yearning to return to his body, to wake and hold Liesel. I watched the color return to his face. Lisel was still softy kissing him, and he opened his eyes, saw her, and passionately sat up, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. Her tears fell onto his face. She pulled away "Rudy?" her voice was hoarse. "Shh. I'm here. I'm okay." he said. Rudy looked right at me. He could see me. "Thank you" he mouthed.

"I love you Rudy." Liesel said. They were still holding each other in the rubble. "I love you too, Liesel"

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><p>They were found by the worker men and taken to the police station. They never left each other's side or let go of their hands. I watched them get picked up by Frau Herrman, the Mayor's Wife. I watched Rudy's father come home and find them. I watched Max find Liesel. I watched them grow up the rest of thier lives together, and I never once regretted my decision.<p> 


	3. Basment Words

**Yet another Alternate Ending. I think I'll leave it to this unless I get lots of reviews wanting more! This one is inspired by another fic, although I'm not sure which. Let me know if it's yours and I'll put in a Acknowledgement!**

Rudy was falling out of bed. Being pushed off the mattress by his younger sister. He fell hard on the floor. He groaned and stood up. His sister smiled at him. He sighed and left the room "Goodnight.". Rudy went to the basement. Liesel spent so much time in her's he thought he'd find out what was so great about it. He guessed it was becasue she used to have Max down there, a friend. And even when she didn't she had the thought of him. From his shallow basement window, he could see Liesel sitting on an old, filthy mattress reading the book she'd written. _The boy with hair the color of lemons_ she'd said about him. Rudy smiled and ran his hands through his hair. He sat down and took in a deep breath. No, it really wasn't as great with no company or a book to read. He wondered if Liesel would let him in to her basement so they could talk. He climbed out the window and snuck across the narrow space in between the houses. He crouched low and knocked on Liesel's window. She jumped and looked around. He tapped again. This time she saw him. She gave him and exasperated look and opened the window. "What do you want?"she asked. "A kiss Saumensch!" "Fine" Liesel said. Rudy was surprised "Really, Liesel?" he asked. Liesel didn't answer. She stretched up on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips. He held her face in his hands and kissed her back. She pulled away and smiled. He smiled back. Liesel moved away from the window as he climbed in.

"What made you..do that?" he asked. She hesitated "What made you ask me to kiss you all those times, for all these years?" Rudy was more willing to answer. he laughed "I've loved you since you came out and played goalie back when we were nine. I don't know what it was. And then we became best friends and I loved you even more! It was sincere every time. I also wanted to make you laugh. Now, what made you kiss me this time? No, wait, first tell me why you never kissed me before!" Liesel looked at him, right in the eyes, to see if he was bluffing. He looked like he spoke the truth. "I guess I just _didn't_ love _you_. You were a good friend, but I didn't start...loving you till awhile ago. I never kissed you after that becasue I didn't see why_ you_ didn't just kiss _me_. I wanted you to so badly, but I didn't think you would, I thought you were just joking around. Today, I just felt like seeing if you really wanted it. Do you really love me?" she told him. He nodded. "Yeah, I really do. Do you really...love me? You said you started loving me a while back..." "Yes..I really do..love you" she said. He leaned over and kissed her. He pulled her into his arms and embraced her. "I'm glad" he said.

Just as he pulled her into another kiss, bombs hit Himmel and the house crumpled over them. Liesel screamed. They were torn apart. "Rudy? Where are you?" she yelled out once she'd surfaced from the rubble. "I'm here, I ahhh!" Rudy screamed in pain. His leg was stuck underneath a fallen wall. Liesel ran over to help him. She pulled him from under the wall. "What happened to Himmel..where..where is everyone? Are you okay? Can you walk?" she sobbed. Rudy tried to stand but collapsed "My leg.. I think it's broken. We were bombed Liesel. I think...I think everyone else is probably..dead" He began to cry too. "I'm going to go look for everyone. Stay safe" she told him.

She gathered her torn and dusty books, and looked around. All she saw was dead bodies. Mama, Papa, everyone. She pulled Papa's Accordion from the rubble and returned to Rudy. His leg had begun to swell and bleed. "Oh, Rudy" she whispered. "HELP! Help us! Please, we're over here!" she yelled. A few bomb clean up men came and helped her up. "Rudy, he, his leg..." she looked over. Rudy had passed out. "He's hurt!" They picked him up and took them to some trucks. They put them in the back of one and took them to the hospital. Rudy went in to the main wing and Liesel waited for him to come out. She clutched her rescued items and waited. Eventually, he came out on crutches and a cast. She helped him out to the truck again and they were taken to the Police Station. They sat and waited. For what, they didn't know.

"I'm glad you're alright. I'm glad you came into my basement. You would have died if you hadn't. I would never have known you loved me and you'd never have known I love you." Liesel told Rudy. "I'm glad you're okay too." Rudy said. He kissed Liesel on the top of the head. Just then, The Mayor's Wife, Frau Herrman, barged into the door. She went up to the officer and said "Two children from Himmel survived. A girl and a boy. Where are they?" the officer pointed to Rudy and Liesel sitting together, holding each other close. She ran over to them "Liesel...Rudy, I'm taking you to my house, you can stay there for now" They looked up "Frau Herrman! Thank you so much" Liesel exclaimed.

Frau Herrman took them to her big house. She showed them the guest rooms,attached by a hall through the closet, and allowed them to bathe. She gave Rudy some of the Mayor's casual clothes and pajamas, and Liesel some of her's. They sat in the Library together talking,bringing back memories.

That night, Liesel went into Rudy's room and sat on the edge of the bed. "I love you, Rudy Steiner." she told him. He smiled "And I love you" She leaned in to kiss him. "And now you can have a kiss whenever you want, Saurkerl" she said, smiling. He laughed softly and she laid down on top of the soft covers. She put her head on his shoulder. "Goodnight Rudy" "'Night Liesel". They fell asleep in eachothers arms, and did every day for the rest of their lives.


	4. Love and Pain

**You all know what this is going to be about, but I have a few notes. I always imagined Liesel and Rudy older when the bombing took place, like 15, so that's how old they are in my endings. Please R 'n R!**

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><p><strong><em>Liebe und Schmerz -<em> Love and Pain**_  
><em>

Rudy was in his basement. He was there becasue he was lonely, and Liesel was in her basement when she wasn't with him - so he thought _she_ must go there when she was lonely. He really loved her. He wished she loved him. He didn't know she loved him just as much he loved her. Liesel was in her basement, becasue she was lonely-Rudy was right - she sat there, thinking of him. Loving him. Wondering if he loved her. Both hearts were beating at the same pace. Liesel went and stood at her basement window, looking out. She saw Rudy with his eyes closed in his basement, and she rapped on the glass. He looked up and saw her, then stood up and came to his own window. He waved and smiled at her, and she smiled back. _Liebe ist Schmerz_ - Love is pain. They both thought it. Neither saw the planes bringing the bombs come. But when they came, the houses collapsed on their inhabitants. Liesel screamed as she flung herself to the ground. Both teens were buried in debris.

Rudy dug himself out first. It was silent. "Liesel?" he called. He heard muffled calls. He found Liesel buried, and struggled to pull her body out of the rubble. Liesel was sobbing. Neither needed to look around to know that they were alone. "Shh Liesel" Rudy whispered, holding her tightly. "Es verletzt - it hurts Rudy" she said "What hurts?" Rudy asked, worried for Liesel. "Alles… mein Inneres. Meine Inner-Schmerzen. Everything...my heart. My heart Hurts" she spoke softly. "Why?" Rudy asked "Jeder ist tot. Niemand, das auf Erde lebendig ist, liebt mich jetzt. Ich bin allein. Allein ohne Liebe.-Everyone is dead. No one alive on earth loves me now. I am alone. Alone with no Love." she began to cry. "I'm alone Rudy." "Liesel! Don't ever say that! You've got me! I - I love you. Ich liebe dich, Ich liebe dich, I have since that first day you played goalie." "Ich liebe dich, Rudy. I have for so long. But I didn't think you loved me back." "But I was always asking for kisses." "You stopped." she said. "I never stopped wanting one. I never stopped loving you." "Why didn't you just kiss me yourself?" Liesel laughed a bit. Both seemed to forget where they were for awhile. "I never thought of that." Rudy said, and pulled Liesel into a deep, long kiss. It was full of regret, of years of love and pain, of races and stealing and name-calling. Of friendship.

When it came time to leave Himmel with the few objects they could find still intact, Liesel and Rudy held each other closely, and never, ever let go. Through Love and Pain, they found each other. They lost everything else. But they found each other.


	5. Coming Not Home

**Well, I just can't seem to stop myself coming up with new endings. I'm a bit obsessive. Please continue to read and please please please review! This one is if Rudy did go away to school, but later in the book - about a month from the bombing, and he's coming home to Liesel.  
><strong>

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><p><em>Rudy's POV<em>

I miss Himmel street. I miss Mama and Papa, my siblings. But most of all, I miss Liesel. My best friend. I know that she's probably safe there and hopefully missing me, so when I get home, I'll get that kiss. I've been at the school for so long...or not really. A month. But if felt like an eternity. One day, the headmaster calls me into his office. "Sit, boy" he speaks harshly. I do as told, not speaking. "I have some...bad news. Himmel was bombed. Your home is destroyed." His voice is softer now. "We don't know if there are any survivors...but the Mayor and his wife, The Herrmans, have offered to take you in. You're going home, son." But I have no home. I have no family, and I have no Liesel.

I act quite cocky around her, but in truth, I love her so much, and I am not a confident as I act. Or I guess, acted. I pack my bags with heavy tears falling down my cheeks. Himmel is gone forever. I board a train the very next day. The ride is long and silent. No one speaks. I clutch my bag. Liesel had given me one of her books to read "I'd better get it back, Saukerl!" she'd said, laughing. But then she'd hugged me goodbye. "Please come home" she'd wisperd. And it was that that let me survive for a month without her. If I had to live at the school for longer, it would keep me sane. It gave me all hope that she loved me and missed me. But now, she could well be dead.

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><p><em>Liesel's POV<em>

Frau Herrman says Rudy's coming home. He's been away a month. My heart was empty and _tired_ without him. I was alone without Rudy and Max. Papa was at work everyday and Mama...well, Mama wasn't the best company. But Mama and Papa are gone now. Who knows where Max is and if he's alive. Himmel is in ruins. It's gone forever. I've been living at the Mayor's house for about a week now. All I can do is sit and cry. But now Rudy is coming.

We joke and tease, and I've never given him a kiss like he asked, but I've wanted to. I love him so much. I hope he hasn't changed much from the school. He is going to be here today, and I don't know how to greet him. I decide to go down to the Himmel ruins before he gets here, and have Frau Herrman send him down, not telling him where I am.

I walk down to Himmel. Everything is the same as it was, except for the dead bodies and possessions. They gathered those and are going to let us look at them tomorrow. The stuff, not the bodies. I sit on a charred couch, still the same as ever, and wait.

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><p><em>Rudy's<em> _POV_

I've never been inside the Mayor's house - only Liesel has. When I get there and move my bags to the guest room - which looks slightly _lived in_, because the bed wasn't made and there was a nightgown crumpled on the floor - I get a little tour. "Sorry about the room - I haven't had a chance to clean it" Frau Herrman says, muttering something else under her breath. Finally, we step into the library, and I can see why Liesel loved it so much. I sigh and slip her book into the shelves, back where she took it from. "Rudy..." Frau Herrman whispers "You should go see...the Himmel ruins" I nod, not really ready but more than willing to get out of this place haunted by her memories, and head out the door to Himmel.

What I see when I get there is heart breaking. The houses are collapsed in on each other and objects are strewn everywhere. I don't see how anyone could have survived, unless they were in a basement. I wish I could have been there. I wish somehow, I could have known and helped Liesel. But I wasn't. I am standing at the top of the street, and I see a little couch in the middle of the rubble. I walk over debris and death, eventually reaching the couch.

Sitting there, shivering in the cold, was my Liesel. Alive. I just stand there for a minute, thinking. I have waited all these years for _her_ to kiss_ me_ - why can't _I_ kiss _her_? I run to her and pull her close to me, and then I kiss her. I put everything into that kiss. Regret, apology, love, friendship, of five years together, but just one month without. And to my surprise, she kisses back with just as much. We are both crying. When I pull away I hold her close to me, warming her shivering body. "Rudy. You're home" she says "I promised you I'd bring you back your book, didn't I?" I say "I love you Rudy. I love you so much" she speaks with heartbreak in her voice. "Liesel..I've loved you since we were nine. I never stopped. I never will" she smiles back at me. "Let's go back.. to the Mayor's house" she says. And we get up and leave Himmel behind.

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><p><em>Liesel's POV<em>

I was really surprised when Rudy found me and just kissed me. After, we walk back to the mayor's house. We go clean up before supper. "Where are you sleeping, Liesel?" he asks me. "In the guest room. What about you?" He hugs me tightly. "The guest room..." he laughs a bit. I sigh a happy sigh and we head down stairs.

That night, I find he was right. We _are _both sleeping in the guest room. He waits for me to dress before coming in and I go to brush my teeth while he dresses. He politely lays above the covers on his side of the bed, but I can feel him shivering. "For god's sake Rudy! If you're cold, get under the covers!" I tell him. he looks at me to make sure, and I nod. He climbs under the layers and layers of blankets and sighs. It is really warm under here. I smile "See, isn't that better?" I grab his hand and his his cheek. He nods and kisses the top of my head. "I love you" he says. We fall asleep holding hands, not really ready for the next day.

When we wake and dress for the day, we have a quick breakfast and head down to the police station. "We're going to go look at all the stuff they found that wasn't destroyed in Himmel" I explain to Rudy. We step into a room and look at the shattered remains of out childhood.

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><p><em>Rudy's POV<em>

__The first thing I see it a dirty, scratched, but still intact soccer ball. Liesel goes right too a pile of books "They are all here Rudy!" she exclaims. Lucky Liesel even finds some other peoples books to take home - proving she will always be a Book Thief. I find my running medals and the key to my father's shop. Liesel finds her mama's jewelry and one of the _watschen _spoons. We leave with more than we came with. I clutch the soccer ball. Soccer, my childhood sport. How I met Liesel. "Remember the day we met? Your mama made you come out and I made you play goalie - you let Tommy out of that job..." I say. Liesel laughs "Everyone hated being goalie"

We return to out new home. I might not have a family, or Himmel. I might not have a real home. But I've got Liesel. And that's really all I need.


	6. Soaring

**Okay, although I haven't got any reviews yet, i just can't stop myself from dreaming up every possible alternate ending. ****In this one,**** I am trying Death's perspective**

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><p>When I left Himmel Street, I had every soul in my arms, except one. The Book Thief's. But I had her book. Her prized possession. So really, I <em>did<em> have her soul. I can't tell you just where I take the souls, but you will learn in good time. Some of the souls are willing to come. They fly ahead of me as beams of happy light, shining through even the darkest places. Others sit, lights gone out in my arms. Those are the ones I sometimes drop. It's as if their souls were dead too. They simply fall out of existence. In one way, Rudy Steiner was one of those souls.

**A reassuring note:**

**Rudy didn't fall, he dived. **

**He wanted so badly to return to the earth.**

**That he did. **

**He did not fall out of existence. **

**He fell back in.**

Yes, Rudy Steiner, sitting restless in my arms, watching others soar ahead, hearing the soul-breath of other sunken souls, decided to jump. His gone-out light surged with some kind of hope, and he let go. You could see the wreckage below. You could see Himmel below, and Rudy could see his body. He began to feel it tugging him back to life. His cheeks warmed, his heart again started thumping, and his eyes flew open.

**A small Truth**

**Rudy wasn't meant to die on Himmel.**

**So he didn't.**

**So don't try anything when it's your turn.**

The first thing he saw when he awoke from death was Liesel walking away from her Mama and Papa. He already knew of the bombs, the rubble and the deaths. But as he awoke, he felt her dusty kiss on his lips. He could smell her tears over top of the death and smoke. He could hear her calling his name, and his hero's, like a whispered echo. All he saw was her. Walking away. Because he was dead.

**Something You Already Know:**

**Rudy Steiner is not Dead.**

He wanted to make him calling out to Liesel special. He could call out "How about a kiss Saumensch?" but, no matter how endearing, he knew now was not the time. He ran a list of names through his head. Word Shaker - he'd save that one for the Jew in the basement. Book Thief - it was an option, but it brought back too much. Liesel - it was her name, just her name.

"Hey Book Thief!" she heard it as a whisper. The silent, dry sobs, more like shivers, wracked her body again. She'd really lost everything, hadn't she? "Book Thief" - louder now. She must be going crazy. "Liesel, Saumensch!" It was a yell now. Like the ones during Soccer. Himmel street soccer. Liesel broke then, falling to the ground sobbing, becasue everything was gone.

**Another Something You Already Know:**

**Everything was not gone. **

**Rudy was there, calling out to her.**

"Why did they have to die?" she said, as she had upon arrival to Himmel, after becoming the heavy weight champion of the school yard."I don't know" Rudy told her, having crawled towards her, and sat, very much alive, behind her. She turned, she saw him. "Dear god. I am going crazy." she said. But she looked behind the mirage-Rudy. There was no dead Rudy. "Ru-Rudy?" she asked him. She saw his cheeks, a faded, but alive pink. She saw his hair, Lemon yellow and covered in dust. She saw his blue eyes fill with tears, and his sad smile usually meant for her decline for a kiss appear on his precious teen face.

**Something Sweet You ****Might Want to Know:**

**If the Book Thief and Jesse Owens died together, **

**right then, they would have soared higher than any other soul**

**They would have cut through every darkness.**

**Even the soupy red, blinding white, and deadening black**

**of Nazi Germany.**

At first, they just sat there, staring at each other. But Rudy, having risked _existence_ to hold Liesel in his arms, to tell her, "I am here" - pulled her into a tight embrace "Liesel" he whispered, barley breathing, and buried his face in her matted hair. Liesel's tears leaked onto Rudy's filthy shirt. "You were dead" she told him. "I know. I escaped" he responded in all sincerity. "And everyone else..." "Didn't. I'm not sure they wanted too. They saw me though. They told me to say goodbye. To say the love you. Thank you. They all had something to say to The Book Thief" his words, very true, comforted Liesel in a way nothing ever had.

**Words You and Rudy have waited for:**

**I love you, Rudy**

Spoken anywhere but where Rudy had wanted, on a mountain range of Heaven's rubble, Liesel told Rudy she loved him. And she did. She really, really did. "I love you too, Liesel. I have for so long"

**Actions You and Liesel have waited for:**

**Just as she's longed for, not so long ago,**

** Rudy pulled Liesel over, and kissed her.**

It was something wanted by the both of them. Rudy, since...well since Liesel's first day of Soccer. Liesel, for not as long - but just as much. When they pulled away Liesel spoke "Finally got that kiss, didn't you Saukerl?" Rudy laughed a broken, dead laugh. Only then did the men cleaning Heaven notice them.

"There's another survivor! Over here, with the girl! It's a boy." One called. The others rushed to the survivors. They were helped out of the rubble. They were taken somewhere safe. Frau Hermann's.

**Something less sad then being bombed:**

**Alex Stiener returnd.**

**The war ended.**

**Hitler died.**

**And the Jew from the Basement came to call on the Word Shaker.**

It was a long few years rebuilding lives. But it all ended. No one replaced Hitler as Hitler had replaced Stalin for my main...benefactor. People continued to die, but not by the thousands. You can learn about the homecomings later.

**For now, I'll end on a Happy Note:**

**Liesel and Rudy, The Book Thief, and Jesse Owens, died together. **

**They _did_ soar higher than any other soul, and cut through every darkness. **

**Through their entire remaining lives, **

**They never left each other's side.**


	7. Himmel Leben

**Okay, here's one more. Don't feel like you have to read it. This has become more of a document for my own personal joy than one for people to read. But I would love you to read it. And review. I think I'll write this one and maybe one more for an even 8 alternate endings. If you have read up to here, I thank you for sticking with me.**

**This is one I thought of when I first read the book back four years ago. Since then I have read the book at least twice a year, so I have thought about it alot. It doesn't really make much sense, but it brings back memories of lying in bed dreaming of Himmel street.**

* * *

><p>When Alex Steiner came home, he took Liesel out to a little farm on the outskirts of Munich that they could both live in and commute to schoolwork. He was her third Papa, but only the second she could remember. They went to a funeral, even though the bodies had just been taken to a hospital to see if they could be saved.

One day, Liesel was reading by the fire when she heard a barking and howling noise from outside. She got up and looked out the window, but saw nothing. She went back to her perch. The noise continued. "Liesel can you - " he called, but Liesel was already out the door. She went around looking for the dogs or strays, but there was nothing. The noise stopped. She was about to go inside, but she decided to take a walk. She kept the lantern near her and her coat buttoned up. She walked for hours in the moon light. Eventually, she headed home.

Meanwhile, when he thought Liesel had gone, he let the survivors in. Miraculously, all of Himmel street was okay. Had they been in comas? Had they had a surge of life left - enough to fuel them to live? No one knew. But the farm was big enough for all of them to have little houses and a real soccer field. They had wanted to surprise Liesel, so they set up a little trick. No one thought she'd go for a walk. They waited in the dimly lit kitchen for hours. Mama and Papa sat patiently, and played the accordion, Rudy was antsy, having found out about the kiss.

The Himmel street residents heard a sound of footsteps and all stood up, waiting. They heard Liesel hang up her coat and put out the lantern. They caught glimpses of her putting her books away. "Come on, Saumench, hurry up" Rudy spoke under his breath. "Liesel! How about we have some supper now?" Rudy's father called out. "Okay" she said back, coming into the kitchen.

Her eyes widened and looked back and forth from person to person. He pink cheeks paled and she gasped out every one's names. "Mama? P-papa? Rudy? E-everyone?" she said. She ran to her foster parents and hugged them. "How is this possible?" she asked. They simply shook their heads. Next Rudy. He stood there, staring at her. She ran to him and embraced him. His thin frame collapsed in her arms and they fell to the floor. "Rudy. Are you alright?" she asked him. He nodded and clutched her still more tightly. 'I love you too, Book Thief" he wisperd. He knew. He knew of her screaming his name and kissing his dusty lips. She hugged him tighter and nodded into his Lemon-lit hair. They sat there awhile, oblivious to the stares and whispers of "finally", before standing up. "So how about that supper?" Rudy's father said. Everyone willingly sat around the long table.

They named the farm Himmel Leben, Heaven Lives, and lived there for many years. They raised families and worked at thier jobs, and one day, Max found them and joined the circle of friends and family. All was well.


	8. Author's Note

**Hey Guys! More than one person wants me to write more! Unfortunately, I am drawing a blank as to more alternate endings, ****so it would be great to get some suggestions. If none come, I think I'll do a Hunger Games fanfic, in time for the movie coming out! ****Please comment any of your ideas, and I'll update ASAP! **

**~ HanaWriter**


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